We'll Go Together
by CorpseDemonxX
Summary: Two-Shot. Set during episodes 12/13 of Shiki. What if Tohru reacted differently when Natsuno said they could run away together? Would it really work out? & Why did he want to run with Tohru in the first place? Mainly focused on their friendship, but contains some Shonen-Ai/Yaoi.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Set during episode 12 of Shiki. Contains spoilers and Shonen-ai (sort of).**

**You have been warned!**

* * *

Natsuno was running.

He was undoubtedly running for his life from someone he never thought he'd need to flee from.

Tohru.

He was a monster now, soon to be a killer.

Yet this boy that was chasing him was once his best friend. The only one that he'd ever felt close to in this isolated village. It was terrifying to think how someone could change in such a short amount of time, but it wasn't his fault. No. It wasn't his fault at all, he'd never asked to become this _thing_.

It was her; Shimizu. She'd fallen for the charms of the newcomers – The Kirishikis and become one of their first victims. Of course that wouldn't be the end of it, she killed Tohru out of petty jealousy. She couldn't stand that Tohru meant more to her beloved 'Yuuki-kun' than she ever could.

Of course, that wasn't the end of it. Tohru had to rise from the grave didn't he? He had to become one of them, a Corpse Demon. A vampire of sorts... he depended on the blood of other humans to survive, he had gained 'the right' to kill other humans in order to survive. Tohru himself viewed it as systematic murder, but once the hunger came he couldn't control himself. He needed to feed, even if it was on his best friend.

Tohru had already bitten Natsuno once. He'd caught him off guard while he was corned by Shimizu and Tatsumi. Natsuno hadn't cared about the danger, he just wanted to see his friend again...

If only he could reason with him and bring the old Tohru back.

"Can't we all just coexist? Do you really have to attack innocent people?"

Natsuno was still running, praying that he wouldn't fall before making Tohru see sense. He knew that if he made the slightest mistake, Tohru would attack without mercy. The hunger would posses him like it did with countless other 'Shiki'.

"That's not possible!"

Tohru was closing the gap between him and Natsuno, his pace seemed to quicken a his previous statement making Natsuno anxious. How else could he make him see reason?

"If you guys just explained there might be people willing to share their blood! If we wait a little the amount of blood would go back to normal, so you wouldn't need to kill!"

"You can't understand! If we could solve things that way we wouldn't attack people in the first place!"

There was a momentary silence between them. Natsuno realised that he couldn't reason with Tohru, he was too far gone...

Tohru recalled how he initially felt. He knew that everyone was reluctant to feed at first, some would fear the sin of killing people, others would fear being punished for it. Yet he knew now that he wouldn't be punished, he had gotten used to the sin right away.

_The sin of thinking of other humans as their food..._

Natsuno looked back at Tohru. His eyes had changed again. The usual opaque sclera* briefly changed to a deep black; his eyes looked so hollow now. There was no 'life' left in them. The short flicker of red sent a shiver down Natsuno's spine. This must be what the hunger did to them, it made them cold-blooded killers who had lost rational thought.

Suddenly Natsuno came to a stop in a small clearing of the forest, causing Tohru to stop a few paces behind him.

"People don't eat a live pig by slicing off its' flesh little by little."

Tohru placed a hand over his stomach, it felt so tight. The pain was unbearable, he was so hungry...

He walked closer to Natsuno slowly. Was he trying to reason with Natsuno? Even he didn't know any more.

"Aren't I right?"

Natsuno turned to face Tohru pulling a large wooden stake and hammer out of his pocket causing Tohru to flinch and step away from him. Natsuno slowly raised them – poised to attack and defend himself. He wasn't going down without a fight, even if it was Tohru.

"If crosses work, this should work too, shouldn't it?"

Tohru stepped back several paces, raising his hands in a protest of fear, or was it innocence?

"D-Don't do it..."

Natsuno gritted his teeth and raised his weapon higher. He wasn't sure if he could do this. The feeling of hammering a stake into _anyone's_ chest frightened him, let alone Tohru's.

Tohru's face was the perfect image of fear mixed with innocence. He looked sad - pained almost.

"Natsuno..."

His voice was so soft, so kind... Why? Natsuno couldn't bear it, he threw his make-shift stake and hammer to the ground in frustration.

"You play dirty!"

Tohru looked between the discarded weapon and Natsuno.

"Act more like a vampire! Stop acting like the guy I used to know!"

Natsuno couldn't take this. He couldn't kill his best friend. He was still there somewhere, he was sure of it. This thing in front of him, it was Tohru; he was cold, had no pulse, no colour in his eyes, no smile... but it was Tohru. _His_ Tohru.

"Natsuno?"

Tohru was visibly confused, wasn't Natsuno going to defend himself? It's not like he wanted to hurt his best friend, but he was afraid he couldn't control himself. Of course it was frightening; more frightening than you can imagine when your best friend is about to force a wooden stake through your heart, but in a strange way Tohru could understand. He still had some humanity left within him.

Natsuno's thoughts were rash and uncontrolled, the voice of reason within his mind was gone. If this was Tohru he wanted to keep him by his side like it used to be. He didn't want- no, he couldn't _handle_ losing him again.

He slowly lifted the sleeve of his shirt, exposing his forearm to Tohru.

Tohru flinched, yet watched his actions closely, he seemed fixated on the exposed flesh.

"If you get hungry, you can have my blood. We can think of a solution to all of this together."

Natsuno was smiling slightly, he raised his arm as if he was offering it to Tohru. Something inside of him yearned for Tohru to take his blood again. He wanted to experience the pain of fangs piercing his flesh, he wanted to remember everything he could about Tohru...

"Until we think of an answer, you can suck my blood. You might have to wait between meals, but you won't need to kill anyone!"

Tohru was listening to Natsuno. Honestly he was, but he was still fixated on the exposed flesh, he could almost hear Natsuno's heart beating, the blood running through his veins...

Natsuno slowly walked closer to Tohru, this time he was the one closing the gap. Still offering his blood to his friend.

"We could run away together Tohru."

Tohru took his sight away from Natsuno's arm and looked him in the eyes; even if it was only for a moment.

"What?"

Natsuno was still smiling, it was an unusual sight – almost frightening to Tohru in the current situation. It was rare for Natsuno to smile, but now of all times?

"We'll go somewhere Tatsumi and the others can't find us. Just you and me Tohru-chan."

_Tohru-chan..._

It had been so long since Tohru had heard those words. A strange, small warmth crept into his chest. It wasn't hunger, it wasn't painful, it almost felt nice.

Natsuno lifted his arm slowly, still offering his blood.

Tohru returned his gaze to Natsuno's forearm. He didn't want to take his blood, but he was so hungry. His thoughts were so conflicting, so frustrating! But... running away together? What would that achieve? It would only increase the risk of Tohru killing his best friend. He might not be able to control himself between 'meals', the hunger might become too great... he turned away quickly at the thought, falling to his knees.

It was so hard for Natsuno not to move closer to his friend. He wanted to comfort him, tell him everything would be okay, that they could work this out somehow. Hell, stranger things have happened, vampires had invaded an isolated village it couldn't get much weirder than that.

Tohru hid his face in his hands, starting to sob quietly. If he did run away with Natsuno he'd kill him. But if he stayed... he'd kill him. He knew it was inevitable, he wouldn't be able to stop himself however hard he tried.

"We can't escape from Tatsumi!"

Natsuno stood behind Tohru, defiant for them to leave Sotoba together, to escape to the city away from everything that had happened here and go back to a lifestyle like their old one in some way.

"Yes we can, we'll leave here together, so suck my blood Tohru-Chan..."

Tohru continued to sob into his hands, the hunger was getting unbearable inside of him. It was taking all his strength not to attack Natsuno right here and now.

"Tohru-Chan!"

Was Natsuno trying to hurt him? To tempt him to sin once again? Or was he just being kind? Tohru rose to his feet and screamed his pain into the night; the torment finally getting the better of him.

He had to attack Natsuno, even if it meant killing him. He was too hungry to think any more. No! He couldn't! He had to stop himself, _he had to_.

Tohru fell forward onto his knees again, he couldn't do it. They had to run away together, he couldn't deny what he wanted – to be close to Natsuno again, to spend time together, to have fun, to smile and be happy... just like it used to be.

Natsuno lowered his arm, realising the pain he was causing his friend. He walked closer to him until he was standing right behind him. He knelt down beside him so he was level with Tohru.

"Tohru-Cha-"

"I'm so sorry Natsuno..."

Tohru sat up slowly and looked Natsuno in the eyes, tears streaming down his face.

"I can't stop myself any more"

Natsuno nodded slowly, seeming to understand. There was no hope for them to run away together was there?

"It's o-"

Before Natsuno even had time to reply, Tohru pinned him to the ground roughly by his shoulders. He hated the thought of hurting Natsuno again, he resented it, but he needed to feed... Hoping it would somehow reduce the pain, Tohru ran his tongue along Natsuno's skin finding the place he wanted to bite. He felt Natsuno shudder under him as he slowly dug his fangs into the tender flesh of his neck.

A low groan escaped Natsuno's throat at the foreign sensation. He couldn't deny that he gained some kind of twisted pleasure from Tohru holding him down and biting into him like this...

After a few minutes Tohru pulled back from Natsuno, licking any excess blood away from the wound on his neck and sitting up slowly. Natsuno was having trouble staying awake, Tohru had taken a lot of his blood and he was already weakened from the previous time. Having Anaemia was tougher than he thought it would be. His vision was hazy but he could still see Tohru sitting next to him now, he looked sad.

"It's.. okay Tohru-Chan.. we can still leave.."

Natsuno was already finding it harder to breathe than before. Tohru shook his head slowly; a small smear of blood still on his chin.

"We can't leave with you in this state!"

Tohru was already regretting what he'd done, but he found himself much easier to control now that he had fed. His friend was already having trouble staying awake let alone breathing and he wanted to leave Sotoba? It's not like they'd be able to just walk out of the village, although Natsuno probably didn't know that Tatsumi was working on sealing the road entrances day by day.

Natsuno tried to force himself into a sitting position but couldn't, he was too weak. He sighed softly and glanced at Tohru as if asking him for help. Tohru looked back at him with tears in his eyes. Natsuno chuckled quietly, it was about as much as he could muster for now.

"It's okay... really."

Tohru bit his lip as if to fight the tears that he could feel building up in his eyes. It's strange that Shiki can cry... You'd almost think that a corpse would have no feelings left, let alone a way to express them. Tohru berated himself silently when he realised he'd made his own lip bleed. The wound sealed itself and the bleeding stopped soon enough but it still irritated him.

"Natsuno..."

Natsuno had closed his eyes for a moment, he opened them again slowly and looked over to Tohru.

"Hm?"

Tohru seemed to fidget, he looked nervous.

"Why... do you want to run away with me?"

Natsuno stayed quiet for a moment looking as if he was thinking.

"Even after.. everything that's happened.."

Natsuno was struggling to speak, breathing was hard so talking was even harder right now,

"You're still.. my Tohru-chan.."

"Eh?"

Tohru was confused, '_my_ Tohru-chan?'

Natsuno closed his eyes, he needed to rest for a while. He smiled and mumbled,

"I love you... Idiot..."

* * *

**A/N: Hopefully that wasn't too bad... It will probably be a one-shot but if it gets positive reception and people want a sequel, I'll consider writing one.**

**_*Sclera – the white (or opaque) part of the eye_**


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: Thank you for the positive reviews I received! I was pleasantly surprised._**

**_I hope this 'sequel' lives up to your expectations._ **

* * *

Natsuno was awoken by an all-too-familiar tapping on his window.

His eyes opened slowly as he glanced towards the direction of the sound.

"Tohru..-Chan..?"

A pair of crimson eyes stared back at him through the open window, sure enough; Tohru had come to visit him again.

"You'd better.. hurry up.."

Natsuno was still having a hard time speaking, his breathing was harsh and laboured. The anaemia was finally taking its' toll on his body.

"Dad's playing doctor... he might.. come and check on me.."

Tohru glanced away from his friend. He wanted to go inside through the open window and be with him, comfort him if at all possible and apologize for all his wrong doings. Not like it would actually make a difference.

"I'd offer to go over.. there.. but.."

Natsuno closed his eyes again, he hated this. No matter how hard he tried his body wouldn't co-operate with him. He wanted to walk over to the window to talk to Tohru, but he couldn't even move his arms or legs any more, it was like his body had been drained of all its' energy.

"I can't seem to walk.."

'Shiki' couldn't enter a persons' home unless they were invited inside. It was like being locked outside.

This however, Tohru took as an invitation. He pushed Natsuno's bedroom open fully so he could climb inside quietly.

Tohru took a moment to study his friend.

Natsuno's eyes were closed, his breathing was quiet yet harsh and laboured, his face was covered in sweat... He looked nothing like he usually did. It broke Tohru's cold, dead heart to see him in such a way.

"Natsuno..."

He opened his eyes again slowly as Tohru walked beside his bed. Natsuno watched him carefully, it's not like he could defend himself but... he still didn't have an answer from Tohru about leaving the village together.

"I'm so sorry..."

Natsuno's stomach felt tight. Tohru wasn't going to run away with him was he? Even everything that had happened last night, even after.. proclaiming his love in such a way.. he couldn't change Tohru's mind in the end.

"It's.. okay.."

There was nothing else Natsuno could do. He never thought he'd resign himself to death in such a way, but he had no choice. If he had to die to keep his best friend 'alive' then so be it.. at least it wasn't someone like Shimizu.

Tohru knelt down beside the bed while Natsuno closed his eyes for what he thought would be the final time. He felt Tohru's body looming over his. It was strange... It almost felt cold when he was nearby... He was awaiting the familiar feeling of fangs piercing his neck...

"I love you too.."

Natsuno opened his eyes again. Tohru returned his feelings? He smiled weakly before noticing how close Tohru was to him. It was harder for him to focus due to the anaemia, but it was easy for him to feel the cold lips of his best friend pressed against his own.

_Was this a goodbye kiss? How cliché..._

Tohru pulled away from his friend and smiled softly. Natsuno was surprised that he was able to, but he slowly slipped an arm out from under his bed covers and reached up to touch Tohru's cheek. He looked like he was about to cry again, no surprise...

"Do you really think we could escape?"

Natsuno nodded slightly as Tohru took his hand in his own and held it tightly.

"When?"

For the first time in a long time, Natsuno felt like hope had returned to him. He would escape the village at last and live a normal life in the city. Well, as normal as it could get when your best friend was a vampire of sorts.

"Not.. yet.."

Tohru nodded, he knew as well as Natsuno that it would be impossible at the current moment in time. Anaemia made things difficult, but there was no way they'd be able to escape with Natsuno in this condition. They'd need to be completely focused and alert the entire time, there was no telling who – or what would be lurking around Sotoba these days.

"I'll come back in a few days, will that be long enough?"

A sudden feeling of dread settled in Natsuno's stomach. It would take a lot longer than 'a few days' for his blood levels to return to normal. But they couldn't wait that long...

"Yes..."

Tohru smiled again, he was starting to look like his old self at last. Maybe he had hope that this would all work out too? Tohru let go of Natsuno's hand and gently led his arm back down to the bed where it previously was.

"Then, I'll be back in a few days, I promise!"

Natsuno closed his eyes again, as if in some kind of conformation that he'd get plenty of rest before the time would come when he would leave. No, when _they_ would leave.

He heard Tohru leave and slide the window shut the best he could from the outside. He really didn't want to take any risks did he?

* * *

_Several days passed._

_Toshio Ozaki, the doctor at the local clinic in Sotoba was beginning to make some rather interesting discoveries about the Okiagari in and around 'his' village. He had vowed to wipe out the entire population before they could kill any more of the residents. _

_Tohru, and several other Shiki, heard rumours that were beginning to spread throughout their kind. _

_'Ozaki's creating an army!', 'He's going to kill us all!', 'He's even been seen with wooden stakes...'_

_Tohru couldn't lie. He was starting to doubt being able to escape with Natsuno again. But he knew that he had to take this chance, there might not be another. He informed several other Shiki that he had killed Natsuno during his latest visit, hoping that word would slowly get back to Tatsumi and that he would already be gone by the time they found out the news wasn't true. _

_If only he had realised it wasn't that easy to trick Tatsumi._

_Natsuno, of course, was oblivious to any news as he was still bed-ridden during his days at home 'recovering'. But he had his own problems to worry about. How would they actually get out of the village? For all he knew roads could be blocked and the main highway would be too obvious to take... _

_He needed a plan._

* * *

Natsuno sat on the edge of his bed. He had the strength to move around on his own again, but he knew deep down that it wouldn't last long. His body needed much longer to recover from the sudden blood loss he had experienced.

He glanced over towards the clock on his desk. It was almost midnight. If Tohru was coming tonight then it would be soon.

Natsuno chuckled quietly to himself. He remembered the first night Tohru came to his home after rising it had been just like this. He was expecting Shimizu or someone else, but not Tohru. For some reason his mind couldn't process that his best friend of all people had to rise up and become a blood sucking monster like the others. It almost seemed ironic in a strange way - actually _wanting_ an Okiagari to visit you.

There was a quiet tapping sound outside.

Tohru was here at last.

Slowly, Natsuno rose to his feet and made his way to his window.

"Who is it?"

He was pretty sure Tohru would be the one who was waiting outside for him, but he couldn't be too careful. Not after waiting so long for this day.

"It's me..."

Sure enough, Tohru was here for him. His stomach felt tight for a brief moment, this was it. Make or break. The day that he would either escape from the village, or most likely be trapped here for the rest of his life.

Natsuno pushed back the screen in front of his window. Tohru was standing right in front of him, the window the only thing that was separating them. A small smile graced Tohru's features for a moment. Natsuno opened the latch on his window and opened it entirely.

"You're ready?"

Tohru offered his hand to Natsuno.

"I think so.."

Natsuno was slightly hesitant. He knew that he'd be leaving his mother and father behind, let alone Kaori and Akira but he felt as if there was nothing more he could do for them.

_It was okay to be selfish once in a while wasn't it?_

He took Tohru's hand in his own, his skin was so cold it almost made Natsuno flinch. Tohru helped him out of his window.

"You aren't taking anything with you?"

Tohru was slightly surprised. He would've thought Natsuno would want to take at least a memento of his old life or _something_ at least.

"No."

Well, it was a simple reply at least. All Natsuno was going to take with him was the clothes on his back. Fair enough.

"Do you know how we can get out of here?"

Natsuno shook his head slightly. Even after all the time he had spent laying in bed, he hadn't been able to think of a suitable way to leave Sotoba.

"I was hoping you'd be able to come up with an idea"

Tohru looked slightly taken aback. Natsuno had expected him to come up with a plan?

"Well... as long as we can make it passed the border we'll be okay won't we?"

Natsuno took a moment to think. There weren't many roads leading out of Sotoba, but Tohru had a point. The village itself was surrounded by many fir trees, surely they could find some kind of alternate route through the forest?

His thoughts were interrupted by a small rustle in a nearby bush. Natsuno looked towards the direction of the sound.

He was sure he caught a short glimpse of pink and that could mean only one thing,

_Shimizu!_

"Tohru, we need to go!"

Tohru was caught off guard by Natsuno suddenly pulling him towards the trees that surrounded his home. He was completely unaware of what had caused Natsuno's sudden urgency but decided not to ask questions and follow him instead.

* * *

_It certainly seemed strange. _

_A human trying to leave Sotoba with a vampire._

Natsuno couldn't deny it. He was having trouble keeping up with Tohru now.

The two had been running for what had felt like forever, following a smaller road that used to lead out of Sotoba but was long forgotten once the main highway was built, from a more discreet location in the forests surrounding it. Natsuno had been leading originally, but Tohru decided to take over after he noticed that his friend was slowing down.

It still hadn't occurred to Tohru that Natsuno might be too weak to make this journey.

"It's not much further Natsuno, we can make it!"

Tohru didn't want to give up on his best friend. He couldn't. There was no way in hell that he was going to let Natsuno die in the village, even if it was only Natsuno who made it out, he had vowed silently to himself that he would be the one to help him escape even if it cost him his own life.

Natsuno squeezed Tohru's hand in response. He needed to focus on breathing right now, not talking. He hadn't seen any other signs of that accursed girl following them.

Had he imagined it? He could just be paranoid...

For some reason Tohru stopped suddenly, causing Natsuno to bump into him. In a way Natsuno was grateful, he'd finally get a chance to catch his breath, but in another he was terrified. Tohru wouldn't just stop like that without reason.

"Oh no..."

Natsuno's chest felt tight. _Oh no?_ It took some effort, but he willed himself to look passed Tohru to see what was wrong.

Of course, it had to be him of _all_ people didn't it?

There, standing in front of them was none other than Tatsumi.

"Ah, Tohru... I thought you said you'd killed Natsuno?"

Tatsumi titled his head in that curious and innocent fashion that had deceived so many people in the past, including Tohru.

Tohru glanced back slightly at Natsuno, it was clear his friend was in no state to make a quick get away and he highly doubted he'd be able to carry him anywhere. Tatsumi was much faster than him being a Jinrou, there was no chance was there?

Natsuno felt Tohru's grip on his hand weaken slightly, neither of them knew what to do.

Tatsumi was the one Tohru had always been afraid of. He didn't care about punishing anyone who stepped out of line and he always seemed to think of the most cruel plans possible. After all, he was the one who gave Tohru an initial choice, _'Kill Yuuki Natsuno or we kill your family'_.

Slowly Tatsumi moved closer towards them. Tohru stood in front of Natsuno in a rather defensive position which surprised everyone involved. Usually Tohru would be crying or accepting defeat by now, it seemed so out of character.

"C-Come any closer to Natsuno and I'll...!"

Tatsumi smirked. The sadist was beginning to show his true colours again.

"You'll what?"

He spoke in a mocking tone, slowing down his pace deliberately yet emphasising every step he was taking.

Tohru stepped back from Tatsumi slowly, forcing Natsuno backwards too.

"I'll.. k-kill you!"

Natsuno couldn't believe what he was hearing, they may have just been words that were said in a moment of spite but he never thought Tohru would say something like that. His attitude towards killing had always been sensitive and controlled.

Tatsumi stopped and laughed.

"Big words from a small child..."

He folded his arms and studied Tohru closely, he was trembling slightly; whether it was from fear or just adrenaline he wasn't sure. But he was quite sure it wouldn't be the latter of the two.

Natsuno glanced around for some kind of escape route. The longer the two kept up the idol chit-chat the more energy he felt that he could regain. If he really had to, he was sure that he'd be able to run from Tatsumi, he knew that his life would depend on it and that drive to keep himself alive would kick in.

"Oh, Megumi_-kun_, come out here would you?"

Both Tohru and Natsuno looked around, surely Shimizu hadn't followed them this far?

Tatsumi smirked once again, they'd taken the bait. He moved faster than either of them could ever have imagined, slamming into Natsuno's side – breaking the grip Tohru and Natsuno had previously shared and knocking him several feet away from Tohru.

"Oops! Natsuno fell down..."

A quiet chuckle escaped Tatsumi's throat as he watched Natsuno skidding through the dirt. He still moved quickly, standing over Natsuno and looking down at him. The boy was already a mess. He was winded from the blow, trying to catch his breath and coughing violently. Yet he was still trying to reach for something?

Tohru cried out as he turned to see Tatsumi over his friend. He had no idea what he was planning to do, but he didn't want to find out either. As if acting on instinct he ran towards them both, wanting to protect Natsuno the best he could.

"Tatsumi, stop!"

Realisation struck Tatsumi suddenly, Natsuno was carrying a wooden stake in his back pocket. He thought for a brief moment, this could work to his advantage...

Natsuno seethed at the pain in his side, it was obvious Tatsumi would've at least cracked a few ribs, but he wasn't going to die without a fight.

Tatsumi looked between the two boys, he had to time this perfectly or it wouldn't work. Oh this was cruel, even for him.

Without thinking Natsuno grasped the stake firmly, pushing himself up with his free hand and thrust it forward towards its' intended target, closing his eyes so he wouldn't have to remember this any more than he had to.

"Na-!"

Wasn't that Tohru's voice?

Natsuno felt the stake connect with something.

He felt it move through flesh.

He felt sick at just the sound of it.

He felt... afraid?

"Oh Natsuno... Look what you've done now!"

Slowly, Natsuno opened his eyes. He hadn't staked Tatsumi - he wasn't even close.

Instead Tatsumi had used Tohru as some kind of 'human' shield. He was holding him in front of his own chest so he'd take the blow instead.

Natsuno almost cried at the sight.

"Tohru-Chan!"

Tohru looked down at his chest slowly it felt like it took hours just to make the effort yet it was obvious the stake wasn't completely piercing his heart or he wouldn't even be moving any more. He cried out as a searing pain ripped through his chest. The initial adrenaline rush he was experiencing must have worn off.

Was he really going to die here?

Tatsumi released his previously firm grip and watched Tohru almost sympathetically.

"That must hurt an awful lot... Want me to put you out of your misery?"

Tears were streaming down his cheeks. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't bear this pain much longer...

"Tatsumi.. don't..!"

Natsuno was struggling to stand, still trying to push himself up to his feet.

"But your friend is suffering so much! Look at him!"

Tohru coughed slightly, a small trickle of blood running down his chin as he looked down at Natsuno. His eyes were still so full of emotion, yet they seemed dull, almost like he was fading. He fell to his knees in front of his friend, his fingers brushing against the stake as if he was contemplating ending it himself.

"I-I want.. Natsuno to do it.."

Both Tatsumi and Natsuno were surprised to say the least. What did he mean by that?

"...Please Tatsumi..."

For the first time Tatsumi didn't make any kind of sarcastic or sadistic remark. Instead, he turned his back on the pair and walked away. Seemingly wanting to leave them in peace.

Natsuno looked after Tatsumi then back at his dying friend again. He still couldn't take in what was happening around him.

Tohru looked up at Natsuno, making eye-contact with him and smiling slightly. He moved one trembling hand away from the stake and caressed Natsuno's cheek.

"Natsuno..."

He moved closer to his friend slowly,

"please..."

Ever so softly, Tohru's blood-stained lips met Natsuno's. He wanted to savour the moment and there was no better way to do it in his eyes. At first Natsuno was surprised, but after a short moment he closed his eyes and returned Tohru's affection.

Nothing else seemed to matter any more. Natsuno knew he wouldn't be able to leave Sotoba, so why should he care if he died here? At least he'd be with Tohru in his final moments, right?

Tohru pulled away from his friend just enough to speak,

"...kill me Natsuno."

He moved his hand over Natsuno's and lead it up to the stake.

Natsuno kept his eyes closed. The threat of tears was all too real right now and he _really_ didn't want to cry in front of Tohru, despite all that was happening. What would he think of him?

"I'm so sorry Tohru-Chan..."

He gripped the steak firmly as Tohru smiled and closed his eyes.

"Don't be..."

* * *

An hour later Tatsumi returned.

"Oh, still here?"

Natsuno was resting against a tree with Tohru against him. He didn't take his eyes off Tohru, he simply ran his fingers through his messy blonde hair.

"Yeah..."

Tatsumi moved closer and squatted down in front of him.

"You know you could've left Sotoba right?"

Natsuno nodded slightly, still watching Tohru intently as if he was waiting for him to open his eyes again. He looked so peaceful now...

"I didn't want to, not without Tohru-Chan."

Tatsumi paused for a moment before speaking again.

"I have to admit, I never expected you to give up your dream for one person. You didn't seem like the type to me."

Natsuno chuckled quietly and moved his shirt collar away from his neck with his free hand. He knew why Tatsumi had really come back.

"Oh, you've given up huh?"

Once again Natsuno just nodded, he didn't really feel the need to respond to Tatsumi. He didn't really care about escaping Sotoba any more. Not without Tohru. There wouldn't be anything out there for him anyway. Besides, the guilt he felt for murdering his best friend was unreal, it hurt more than any physical pain he'd ever experienced.

Tatsumi shifted closer to Natsuno, careful not to disturb Tohru's corpse. He was usually the sort that would make someone suffer to the end, but for once he felt like they'd both suffered enough. Natsuno's grip tightened on Tohru, he didn't want to let him go unless he had to, after all Tohru had tried to protect him hadn't he?

"Make it quick..?"

Tatsumi chuckled, that was one thing he could do. He'd been so focused on getting meals for the newly risen Shiki that he hadn't been able to feed himself recently. From what he could remember Tohru had taken blood from Natsuno twice now, meaning it wouldn't take much to finish him off.

Natsuno flinched as he felt Tatsumi's fangs pierce his skin. Whether he intended it or not, Tohru was a lot more gentle than Tatsumi when it came to this sort of thing. His eyes felt heavy but he tried to force them open, he wanted to see this through to the end. Slowly his breathing became laboured and his vision began to fade.

Death's warm embrace felt so inviting, but before he gave in he had one final semi-conscious thought.

_'Tohru-Chan... We'll go together __after all__...'_

* * *

_**A/N: I hope you don't hate me for ending it that way...**  
_

_**Thanks for reading.  
**_


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